This Playstation ad is brilliant.
The ad so well communicates why people LOVE games. It's the story, it's the challenge, its the epic-ness of it all combined!
Anyone familiar to the gaming world will recognise at least 1 or 2 of these characters (though most were a complete mystery to me - maybe i'm out of touch?).
I think it's more of an ad for gaming as an entertainment form, rather than for just Playstation 3. Brilliant either way!
Friday, 7 October 2011
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
GIF it up, GIF it up, GIF it up now.
Could 'Cinegraphy' (i'm not sure about the term either...), a subtle, understated animation style be the saviour of the .GIF?
The format is usually associated with late 90s early 2000s cheap, brash and nasty web advertising. These examples show a modern, more subtle usage of the format, combining beautiful photography with a slight hint of movement; creating the effect of short piece of high quality video.
I think the first example (the fresher than fresh tomatoes) really displays how this format could be effectively used for neat little (and non-bandwidth taxing) moving web adverts.
More examples here, some OK, some great (the taxi reflection in the window is particularly nice).
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Still Life
I've never been a massive fan of The Horrors (I think I was probably a bit presumptive and was put off by the look of them, thinking they were just another 'gothy band'). Then I heard a couple of tracks, and it still seemed fairly run of the mill massively Joy Division influenced 'neo-post-punk'...if that's a thing.
But a couple of weeks ago I heard the first single 'Still Life' from their upcoming (July release) album 'Skying'.
It it pure goodness.
It sounds like it was made by a group who've been solely surviving on a diet of 80's John Hughes films and Tears for Fears tracks. Love it.
Hear here.
Friday, 24 June 2011
Have a delicious refreshing coke.
Rather cool article about the first neon Coca Cola sign ever (i think ever!)
See it on Creative Review here.
See it on Creative Review here.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Best wedding photography ever?
These photos (with what you could maybe call, a 'light bit' of post-shoot editing) are apparently from a Russian wedding photographer.
As one of the commenters says "it's like a bad car wreck – so horrible you have to look (while you tell yourself how lucky you are not be part of it)". Ahh it's brilliant.
More here.
Monday, 9 May 2011
Symmetry and micro-blogging (though in techno-jargon surely mogging)
I've realised I hardly blog these days, largely because of the main thing I do with the blog is show and share nice bits of art / design / culture, and frankly, facebook and twitter are much quicker and more of a 'two way conversation' than the blog (which feels more like shouting interesting facts into a bottomless abyss).
So as a result i'm going to try and do more short and snappy '30 second post' bloggs (this being a bit longer than that), where I get straight to the good stuff!
So here we go!
This is a very nice video by 'Everynone' (http://vimeo.com/everynone) on Vimeo.
Two camera shots, side by side, showing the opposites, the yings and the yangs of life (juxtaposition if you will).
E.g. A shot of a policeman next to a robber, a child crying to a child laughing, a baby taking his first steps to a man treading his last).
It's beautifully shot and short enough to keep you hooked.
http://vimeo.com/22564317
They've also got some other interesting videos, so have a gander.
So as a result i'm going to try and do more short and snappy '30 second post' bloggs (this being a bit longer than that), where I get straight to the good stuff!
So here we go!
This is a very nice video by 'Everynone' (http://vimeo.com/everynone) on Vimeo.
Two camera shots, side by side, showing the opposites, the yings and the yangs of life (juxtaposition if you will).
E.g. A shot of a policeman next to a robber, a child crying to a child laughing, a baby taking his first steps to a man treading his last).
It's beautifully shot and short enough to keep you hooked.
http://vimeo.com/22564317
They've also got some other interesting videos, so have a gander.
Monday, 6 December 2010
The Bullitts
New project from hiphop uber producer Jeymes Samuel, if this first release is anything to go by these 'guys' are going to be awesome. So good! Also always nice to drop in a bit of Salvador Dali for the visuals!
Get it! / Listen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmozhjxSkGI
Get it! / Listen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmozhjxSkGI
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Becoming a grown up (hardly) and getting a dreaded j.o.b.
Well, since last we spoke, i've graduated uni with a 2:1 (though i was just over 1% off a 1st, bit annoying but hey ho!). Our graduating (Graphic Design) class had our final show... which i think was relatively successful, despite the lack of a 'proper' London show (Bournemouth is not exactly the arts and design capital of the world).
The show was really good though, oddly enough despite everyone working on their projects for the last 6 months or so of the final year, you rarely got to see other peoples projects, in a state comparable to how they would look when finished. So it was really amazing / fresh to see everyones work!
Anyway, that seems long gone! As it was all about 3 months ago!
So, soon after the final hand in (after messaging, emailing, link-in-ing, twittering, facebooking, posting, ringing, texting, faxing, carrier-pidgeoning every design company in the northern hemisphere, as well as a few in the southern one) i landed a month internship with a company called Sideshow (based all of 20 meters away from where i studied, on the university campus).
That unpaid (damn you standard practices in design business) internship turned into a job, and since 1st August i've been employed as a Designer by Sideshow (http://www.thisissideshow.com/). The agency / studio / whatever the going term is, is a small (but quickly growing) 9 month old company based in Poole (with a London office), and its great!
It's a wicked environment, lots of fun, but also hard work! I've been working with a range of clients on a range of projects, from an independent ethical clothing seller to huge names like BT.
On the first day i got there 'The White Album' by The Beatles was blasting out, so i knew from then it was a sound place!
The show was really good though, oddly enough despite everyone working on their projects for the last 6 months or so of the final year, you rarely got to see other peoples projects, in a state comparable to how they would look when finished. So it was really amazing / fresh to see everyones work!
Anyway, that seems long gone! As it was all about 3 months ago!
So, soon after the final hand in (after messaging, emailing, link-in-ing, twittering, facebooking, posting, ringing, texting, faxing, carrier-pidgeoning every design company in the northern hemisphere, as well as a few in the southern one) i landed a month internship with a company called Sideshow (based all of 20 meters away from where i studied, on the university campus).
That unpaid (damn you standard practices in design business) internship turned into a job, and since 1st August i've been employed as a Designer by Sideshow (http://www.thisissideshow.com/). The agency / studio / whatever the going term is, is a small (but quickly growing) 9 month old company based in Poole (with a London office), and its great!
It's a wicked environment, lots of fun, but also hard work! I've been working with a range of clients on a range of projects, from an independent ethical clothing seller to huge names like BT.
On the first day i got there 'The White Album' by The Beatles was blasting out, so i knew from then it was a sound place!
Monday, 17 May 2010
Moving Forward
Last friday i had my final hand in for university! I have now handed in my 'final major project' alongside my portfolio, business cards and various other 'entrepreneurial elements' (including the website and blog).
Which cleverly leads me onto this... i have my portfolio website up and running finally, it's been in various stages of functionality for a few weeks / months but it had all come together nicely now.
The website can be seen here: www.jackdavey.co.uk.
Have a look, let me know what you think! (And feel free to employ me!)
Finding work for graduates with little long-term studio experience is notoriously difficult in design, especially in recent years with the economy and such and such.. I am beginning to experience this first hand after applying to many Design companies, however on the bright side i have shortlisted for some jobs and been to interviews (from which i still haven't heard the final decision!) and have been offered a longer-term placement at Dalziel + Pow (who i did a placement with last summer).
In the meantime the class is beginning preparation for the Bournemouth and London final shows, and hopefully i can fill my summer with freelancing, festivals, some work placements, and some of the self-initiated projects i've been itching to continue with for the past months (one of which can be seen on the website here)
Roll on the summer and the shows!
Which cleverly leads me onto this... i have my portfolio website up and running finally, it's been in various stages of functionality for a few weeks / months but it had all come together nicely now.
The website can be seen here: www.jackdavey.co.uk.
Have a look, let me know what you think! (And feel free to employ me!)
Finding work for graduates with little long-term studio experience is notoriously difficult in design, especially in recent years with the economy and such and such.. I am beginning to experience this first hand after applying to many Design companies, however on the bright side i have shortlisted for some jobs and been to interviews (from which i still haven't heard the final decision!) and have been offered a longer-term placement at Dalziel + Pow (who i did a placement with last summer).
In the meantime the class is beginning preparation for the Bournemouth and London final shows, and hopefully i can fill my summer with freelancing, festivals, some work placements, and some of the self-initiated projects i've been itching to continue with for the past months (one of which can be seen on the website here)
Roll on the summer and the shows!
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Election Day (Lazy Parody/Plagiarism)
Well it's election day in England, have just been down to the polling station and given my vote!
Like many others, I've been watching the televised prime ministerial debates, who most people seem to agree turned Nick Clegg from being the new-boy to a (at least personality wise) favourite.
This election seems to have a surprising number of young people interested in voting, most of the people i know at university have actually got off their arses and gone to vote! Which is always good!
Who-ever you are voting for, there are a good range of tools on the internet to help you decide who your vote should be with. http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/ and http://www.votematch.org.uk/ are brilliant websites (and quite impartial from what i can tell!). Both of these sites present policies to you, from nameless parties, to which you simply say what you agree with and what you don't. It's a great way to see summarised policies, and also to get people away from voting for parties just for the sake of previous allegiances, getting you to vote for which one you agree with, rather than your favourite 'brand' as it were!
One thing that did annoy me was the how 'The Sun' ripped off Shepard Fairey's Obama 'Hope' poster (see below). The imitation poster hijacks the ideals Obama represented (of hope and change), attempting to apply them to Cameron, a man with completely opposing plans and ideas.
Whilst the 'borrowing' of Shepard's art style is nothing new, it has been overdone, and creates a completely void message when applied to certain subjects. This is not a personal attack on David Cameron, more one on The Sun for stealing artwork, and being unimaginative and lazy.
Like many others, I've been watching the televised prime ministerial debates, who most people seem to agree turned Nick Clegg from being the new-boy to a (at least personality wise) favourite.
This election seems to have a surprising number of young people interested in voting, most of the people i know at university have actually got off their arses and gone to vote! Which is always good!
Who-ever you are voting for, there are a good range of tools on the internet to help you decide who your vote should be with. http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/ and http://www.votematch.org.uk/ are brilliant websites (and quite impartial from what i can tell!). Both of these sites present policies to you, from nameless parties, to which you simply say what you agree with and what you don't. It's a great way to see summarised policies, and also to get people away from voting for parties just for the sake of previous allegiances, getting you to vote for which one you agree with, rather than your favourite 'brand' as it were!
One thing that did annoy me was the how 'The Sun' ripped off Shepard Fairey's Obama 'Hope' poster (see below). The imitation poster hijacks the ideals Obama represented (of hope and change), attempting to apply them to Cameron, a man with completely opposing plans and ideas.
Whilst the 'borrowing' of Shepard's art style is nothing new, it has been overdone, and creates a completely void message when applied to certain subjects. This is not a personal attack on David Cameron, more one on The Sun for stealing artwork, and being unimaginative and lazy.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Gorillaz: Plastic Beach
First Listen: Hated it, too much synth and weirdness seemingly for the sake of weirdness.
Second Listen: Still crap.
Third Listen: Amazing! I don't know what's happened but i suddenly am a loving this album. The synth doesn't seem as jarring, and following on from Demon Days (also amazing), it seems logical, it pushes previous experiments and sounds and is a huge leap forward (moreso than Demon Days was from the debut, which was a lot).
The guests on this album are as numerous as they are varied, the album intro has Snoop Dogg (i'm not a fan) rapping, followed tracks later by Mos Def and a classical orchestra, who is followed by various punks including Paul Simonon and Mick Jones (from the Clash) and Mark Smith (from the fall). To top it off art-rock legend Lou Reed makes an appearance as does sixties soul singer Bobby Womack.
Anyway, i think this album is a grower. Whilst it's sad that Blur aren't 'properly back' (or maybe it's a good thing, tarnishing former glory and such), the new Gorillaz album definitely makes up for it!
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Rebuilding Paul
I have been playing guitar for about 6 or so years, and am quite average at it! But i do love it!
I recently went to Swanage Blues Festival, a yearly festival blues festival in (predictably) Swanage.
The day of music got me re-inspired with rock and roll guitar music, so i have spent the last few weeks listening to Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Sonny Terry, and early Led Zeppelin. As well as discovering new greats (for me) like Son House and John Mayall.
After having my (cheap) 'Les Paul copy' guitar for 6 years, i was a bit bored with the look of it. I wanted one that looked like Les Paul himself had owned it, and toured with it, dropped it, broke it, and ran over a few times.
I set out to sand, batter, scrape, the guitar, in a way that left it still playable and hopefully more interesting to look at!
Here are the pictures of that process!..
Heres what it looked like at the start (not mine but identical)
Here is my garden/workshop (i decided to start this project quite late at night!)
A bit of sanding and dismantling later..
Inspecting the good work
Sanding done, heres the back (a bit more paint, went a bit more arty here!)
Next day, time to rebuild!
Heres the finished headstock
And heres the main body!
I'm pretty damn pleased with it! Still want to change a few bits (like the humbucker holdings, and control knobs. But i like it!
I dont think there's been a day where i haven't blasted 'The Rumble' on it in a few weeks!
I recently went to Swanage Blues Festival, a yearly festival blues festival in (predictably) Swanage.
The day of music got me re-inspired with rock and roll guitar music, so i have spent the last few weeks listening to Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Sonny Terry, and early Led Zeppelin. As well as discovering new greats (for me) like Son House and John Mayall.
After having my (cheap) 'Les Paul copy' guitar for 6 years, i was a bit bored with the look of it. I wanted one that looked like Les Paul himself had owned it, and toured with it, dropped it, broke it, and ran over a few times.
I set out to sand, batter, scrape, the guitar, in a way that left it still playable and hopefully more interesting to look at!
Here are the pictures of that process!..
Heres what it looked like at the start (not mine but identical)
Here is my garden/workshop (i decided to start this project quite late at night!)
A bit of sanding and dismantling later..
Inspecting the good work
Sanding done, heres the back (a bit more paint, went a bit more arty here!)
Next day, time to rebuild!
Heres the finished headstock
And heres the main body!
I'm pretty damn pleased with it! Still want to change a few bits (like the humbucker holdings, and control knobs. But i like it!
I dont think there's been a day where i haven't blasted 'The Rumble' on it in a few weeks!
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Design is...
In the 1950's and 60's Dieter Rams designed a variety of standard products like radios, speakers, lemon juicers and lighters for the electronics company Braun.
The products look today, as new and fresh as they did back then, and the style and theory behind them has informed product design ever since (see anything Apple have made since everything they sold went minimal and white / plain metal).
Rams' was aware the world was being cluttered with confusing and overcomplicated design, so set out ten principles of design that he felt all designers / designs should follow.
Here are the ten principles for good design.
Good design is innovative.
Good design makes a product useful.
Good design is aesthetic.
Good design helps us to understand a product.
Good design is unobtrusive.
Good design is honest.
Good design is durable.
Good design is consequent to the last detail.
Good design is concerned with the environment.
Good design is as little design as possible.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Immersion Project
'The zone' is a well known concept within sports, and really any mentally or physically demanding activity.
New York based photographer Robbie Cooper's 'Immersion' series shows children as they enter 'the zone' whilst playing engrossing and violent games like Grand Theft Auto 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
The shoot shows a unique way of looking at gaming, by looking at the gamer. I'm sure i look like that playing Grand Theft Auto, from the look on their faces i can recall being so sucked into a game you sort of forget your surroundings.
The idea behind the shoot is great, letting the kids play the games for an indefinite amount of time until they appear to be in 'the zone', and the shots are great.
The kids are indeed too young to play these (18 certificate) games. However kids will, always get hold of them, and i think there is far worse things than playing games!
Robbie Cooper's Website
New York based photographer Robbie Cooper's 'Immersion' series shows children as they enter 'the zone' whilst playing engrossing and violent games like Grand Theft Auto 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
The shoot shows a unique way of looking at gaming, by looking at the gamer. I'm sure i look like that playing Grand Theft Auto, from the look on their faces i can recall being so sucked into a game you sort of forget your surroundings.
The idea behind the shoot is great, letting the kids play the games for an indefinite amount of time until they appear to be in 'the zone', and the shots are great.
The kids are indeed too young to play these (18 certificate) games. However kids will, always get hold of them, and i think there is far worse things than playing games!
Robbie Cooper's Website
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
dalziel+pow, hydroponic potatoes
i've been a bit lax on blogging recently!
had a very hectic end of summer, managed to get a work placement with dalziel and pow design consultancy, which was amazing!
was working on a huge range of projects, creating a typeface for a (as i have been informed to say...) 'well known high street brand', as well as designing logos for a cafe in dubai, and also designing posters for china's 60th birthday celebrations!
here are a few of the pieces / mid-developmental pieces i worked on whilst there..
typeface
national day cards
bite cafe
had an amazing time, and was good to get a glimpse of what i'll be doing for the next 50 years! i'm looking forward to it i think!
back at uni now for third year, terrifying stuff, however interesting too, currently working on a one week project consisting of 'eden project' style sections of supermarkets growing hydroponic potatoes and tomatoes etc..., been working on grow cycles and crop yield statistics for the last few days!
madness!
somehow i'm sure this relates to graphic design!
had a very hectic end of summer, managed to get a work placement with dalziel and pow design consultancy, which was amazing!
was working on a huge range of projects, creating a typeface for a (as i have been informed to say...) 'well known high street brand', as well as designing logos for a cafe in dubai, and also designing posters for china's 60th birthday celebrations!
here are a few of the pieces / mid-developmental pieces i worked on whilst there..
typeface
national day cards
bite cafe
had an amazing time, and was good to get a glimpse of what i'll be doing for the next 50 years! i'm looking forward to it i think!
back at uni now for third year, terrifying stuff, however interesting too, currently working on a one week project consisting of 'eden project' style sections of supermarkets growing hydroponic potatoes and tomatoes etc..., been working on grow cycles and crop yield statistics for the last few days!
madness!
somehow i'm sure this relates to graphic design!
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